This is a story I've been working on very erratically. It takes a lot of base things from the Kingdom Hearts series but this is more of a semi-original story with certain concepts from the series than a true fanfic. All characters are original and there is no reference to any of the games except keyblades, and maybe some worlds. Be prepared for certain things, and how they work in the games to be skewed and different from original source material. This is largely my own story with things ripped from the game just to get my creative juices flowing. Hopefully you enjoy this little taste of the story and continue to read whenever I update.

Darkness. That's all I could see, unwavering darkness.

The sound from the clash of blades.

A thousand white pillars make up the landscape.

Two people in black cloaks fought, both very skilled.

One held a white Keyblade. Average length with an attribute to it that stood out as pure to me. A black ribbon wrapped around the middle of three prongs at the top down to the bottom of the weapon. The long ribbon hung off and danced in the background of blade strokes. The lack of guard complimented the sleekness of the weapon.

The other held a long, black, ferocious looking Keyblade. It had what looked to me to be a blue eye at the top. The whole weapon looked like it was modeled after a ram of sorts. The chain that hung off had a blue butterfly at the end of it.

The two cloaked figures fought like lightning, If I was looking through my own eyes I could probably barely keep up. I wasn't though, I was some sort of… omniscient being. The warriors continued to clash. The figure with the primarily white Keyblade was agile, switching between backhanded and forward with a precise flow, no switch felt out of place.

The other figure though, his style seemed lazy, but effective. Efficient is the word I'm looking for, but, he also had an aura to him, something… dark. The two wielders clashed for a final time.

I woke up in a startled manner. No sound came from the final impact of the blades but I felt as if symbols were just smashed together right next to my ear. I could feel sweat all over my body, almost drenched. I looked over to my alarm clock and realized I should probably start getting ready. I got up, after about twenty minutes of deciding if I would or not, and went over to my closet. Picking out what I would wear with a blank expression of grogginess on my face. Once I was dressed in some denim, and a black t-shirt, I looked in the mirror to decide what should be done with my hair. Light brown and fairly long on top, with short sides, I decided to throw on a hat to keep my hair out of my eyes. I then decided to do some stretching and some simple warm ups in order to wake up. I grabbed my wooden sword and made my way to the dining hall in order to get breakfast once I was ready.

Me, and the rest of the people here, live in a giant japanese inspired complex of a main building and other smaller ones scattered all around. All of the buildings had a warm color palette to them. The large main building held the student's dorms, the cafeteria, and other essential facilities, and most of the smaller buildings were used as individual meeting halls for students and their designated masters. The rest belonged to adults that had already graduated or had taken jobs in other areas.

Everyone here is a Keyblade wielder of some sort or related to one at the very least. Everyone is given jobs once they graduate to manage different things like the kitchens, cleaning the bathrooms, etc. Some had special jobs though. Others were sent to different worlds to 'snuff out darkness' and 'breed light' at least, that's what I was told in class. I'm currently seventeen. My birthday was a week or two ago, and now it's just the waiting game till I'm eighteen and can be assigned to that role. I've been training my whole life to go out and adventure, of course I could be rejected and given a guard position, but i've been working my ass off ever since I could remember in order to be something a bit more. I used to be recognized as part of the top tier of students, personally I'd consider myself number one, but that title has since been passed on as I still can't summon my own Keyblade.

Masters have told me, indirectly of course, that I am too old at this point and I shouldn't expect to be able to wield. They go on and on about my mothers prowess, they used to see that in me but, that has since diminished. I've been reassured that there are other weapons that can be crafted to fight the darkness, though I'm disappointed and I'm sure my mom would be too if she was here, I take comfort in the fact that my hope of adventure and fighting the darkness is still fully in tact.

After finishing breakfast I arrive at Master Rhine's training room. I see him meditating on the floor in his usual brown robes. Respectfully I wait for him to finish, but, sensing that I was there he didn't take too long to get up.

"Have you done your warm ups?" he asked with his usual friendly tone. Rhine was never very serious, unlike the other Masters, he took a more light hearted approach to things.

"Yes sir." I replied, "Made sure to do them cause I was hoping for a little spar. Ya know, get the juices flowing and all."

Master Rhine just shook his head and laughed a bit, "This early in the morning?" he asked, I just nodded my head. "Okay then, I only have time for one though, then I have something to attend to."

"Scared you'll lose?" I asked him in a sarcastic way,

he just laughed a bit, "You wish." He replied in a confident tone.

I held my wooden sword with two hands in front of me in the traditional stance, left foot forward, sword centered, head tilted down slightly. Master Rhine did the same but with one of the standard wooden swords. What made my sword a bit different was that it was lighter, shorter, and more agile than the normal ones. It suited my fighting style more, at least when I wasn't using a traditional stance. Everything was silent, it felt as if I could hear his heartbeat. Both our right feet stepped forward as quick successions of diagonal attacks ensued. Sure thought plays a role in battle but, muscle memory takes center stage, I could feel my body heat up as we fought, adrenaline was pumping and attacks were more confident. Getting to involved in offense Rhine quickly took the chance to wrap his sword around mine and deflect it away from him, at the same time sliding what would be the blade edge up to my neck. He had won the Spar.

"Damn" I whispered to myself as Rhine pulled the wooden sword away,

"You know offense isn't everything Koga." He said in his usual manner, "You've got to play defense sometimes, it's not about how many hits you can get in."

"I know, but they do say say offense is the best defense right?" I replied with a slight chuckle,

"You take that too seriously. Now go. Find a sparring partner or something, I have to go speak with someone."

I bowed and replied with a "Will do." as I left the room.

Outside the Training Hall, was mainly a large concrete area with multiple small, wooden, and matted squares. These being the sparring mats everyone used when they weren't training with their designated Master. There were also wooden and straw dummies lined up along the outside of the Training Hall, along with a few other necessities.

I saw my friend Enzo sitting on the ground staring up at the sky by himself. His hair was styled basically the same as mine, but a bit shorter and a dark brown. He was a couple inches taller than me, though it wasn't a huge deal as both of us were still considered short. I was about 5'7, and he was 5'8 or 5'9.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, he jumped a bit, must have been spacing out.

"Oh my god you scared the shit out of me." He said with a deep exhale,

"Wanna spar?" I asked him,

"This early?" he replied, with something i've now heard for the second time today.

"Why does everyone think I'm crazy for that?"

"You're not." he said with a laugh as he got up, "well maybe a little… so, which mat are we going for?" he asked dusting himself off from the ground.

As we both looked around I spotted a girl sparring, with what was basically a line waiting for them to finish, It was Kiera. She adopted the imaginary title of 'Number One Apprentice' after me.

"As far away from that mat as possible" I said as I pointed to the mat Kiera was on.

"What? Problem between lovers?" Enzo said sarcastically with a big grin on his face.

"No En." I replied as I laughed and started to make my way to the mat on the opposite side from her.

Kiera hated me, I wouldn't say her reason was very justified but at least she had one right? Me and Keira have sparred a few times and not once could she win. It was always a tie or me coming out on top. I guess pride might be the reason she hates me. I know she isn't a bad person but on the outside she is definitely a stuck up bitch, at least to me. To everyone else she seems pretty nice, I mean all the younger kids have a fat crush on her. It's not hard to see, the average height brunette was very attractive, she had bangs and her hair was almost always in a ponytail, her blue eyes also complemented her very well.

Suddenly Enzo's arm was around me, "Well looks like you got her attention" Enzo whispered. I looked at him confused as he took his arm off me, it suddenly hit me that I had been staring at Kiera. As Kiera walked over Enzo had a big smile on his face and waved. She smiled slightly at him and then looked at me with a straight face. I put a big fake smile on, as is the usual fashion when we interact.

"Can you stop staring, you're putting me off." she said in a stern tone.

As I went to apologize and tell her I was just spacing out, Enzo went and opened his big, stupid mouth, "Maybe you should stop noticing him, I know he's a cutie and all but it shouldn't affect you that much."

She looked at me again and told me, with slight irritation in her voice, but also with signs of a chuckle she didn't want to slip out, "Tell your boyfriend to keep his mouth shut, he's annoying."

"For sure." I replied with a smile as I hit Enzo in the back of the head with my hand. Kiera just let out a heavy sigh, turned around, and walked back to her mat.

"She has a very nice posterior." Enzo said as I walked to one side of the mat we were on.

I let out a laugh then got in my regular, non-formal, stance. Left foot forward, knees bent, right arm with sword in hand behind me and flared out, left arm in front of me.

"Just get ready to spar." I said as I shook my head with disappointment and a smile on my face. Enzo laughed a bit and went to grab a wooden sword,

"It's fine, use your Keyblade" I told him,

"You sure?" he replied.

I nodded my head and he got into his usual one handed stance on the other side. His stance wasn't as low as mine but it was pretty similar. He summoned his Keyblade. It was an average length, but it was definitely unique. The blade was the shape and color of fire. The end curled into a fireball and the charm at the end of the chain was even a flame. We locked eyes and focused. No matter how silly he and I may seem, battle was where we put all of ourselves in.

We launched forward and our weapons met in the middle, each at a slant. Our weapons quickly slid apart and hit again, positions were switched this time. I went into an overhead strike with both hands on the hilt of my sword, my weapon bounced off and I flipped the sword to backhand. I then swiped up, causing Enzo to dodge backwards, I switched my sword back to facing forward, I could tell Enzo was about to go for an overhead strike so I put my sword up and it made contact with his, I then slid my weapon forward causing me to now be at his side.

He let out a small yelp and then turned around getting back in his stance. "One to zero, are we going to three?" I asked him,

"You know it." he said happily.

I got back in my stance and our eyes met. I launched with a one-handed upward slash. Enzo countered it.

"Point." he said with a smile,

"You got lucky." I said with a laugh as we got back into our stances.

This time my sword was in my left hand though. For some reason, though I'm right handed, switching between forward and backhand was easier in my left.

I launched going straight into a flurry of strikes, Enzo dodged them but I could tell it was difficult. The sweat beading off his face told me that much. Finally I jumped back and got into my stance again, still with sword in left hand. We both jumped forward.

"Point." I said in the same fashion he had,

"Shutup." he replied childishly, blending the words together.

The score was two to one, I just needed one more point. We both got back into our positions and re-focused.

I once again launched forward, this time with an overhead attack. He blocked but somehow I went through his block. I pushed my sword forward almost hitting him but sparing him the sting of an attack. I pulled away and looked at him with a proud smile. I was confused as I saw his face was more serious than usual,

"Sorry man." he said as he rubbed the back of his head and his Keyblade dissipated.

"What do you me-" he pointed to the ground where half my sword was laying, "Oh…" I said as it clicked in my brain.

"I didn't mean to." he said as he picked up the half of my sword,

"No problem." I replied in a reassuring way, "I swung to hard probably, not your fault". He handed me the other half of my wooden sword, "I'll just get another one made, can't be that hard".

As I finished my sentence I heard an explosion, it was at the part of the wall around the complex directly in front of us. Anti started to come over the wall, and the sky got dark. Everyone including Enzo summoned their Keyblades and got in fighting stances.

"Go get Master Rhine!" Enzo shouted at me,

"But I have to hel-"

"You don't have a Keyblade Koga!" I was cut off by Enzo, he was the most serious I had ever seen him, he was right though.

I threw my broken sword on the ground and picked up one of the heavier wooden sword on the rack. As I ran to the training room Master Rhine was usually in, Heartless formed in front of me. I couldn't kill them. One by one they would jump and latch on the the sword, I made sure to throw them off the sword as far away as possible, I needed to get Rhine. I finally got to the door of the training room and entered it, the room was dimly lit by the covered up sun outside. I saw a tall man in the front of the room where Master Rhine usually meditated, then I heard a loud crackling noise. The man turned and I saw briefly the body of Master Rhine frozen.

"Who are you!? What did you do to Master Rhine!?" I shouted at the man as I got into a fighting stance, he just kept looking at me... but eventually he smiled, an evil smile.

"Tyra's boy huh? I know you…" he muttered just loud enough for me to hear. Then he spoke up, "The most promising young pupil, and he can't even summon a Keyblade. It's funny really… now you've been shoved to the back of everyone's mind as a failure. Does it bother you?" he just looked at me with the same smile,

"Shut up! Now what did you do to Master Rhine" I shouted back as I gripped the wooden sword.

"You wanna play hmm?" the man said bored as he manifested his Keybladel.

I've seen that blade, I just couldn't find where. It was long, black, "Ferocious…" was the word that popped into my head. I knew it… my dream.

"You've seen this before haven't you?" he asked as if he could read my mind,

"How'd you know?" I replied angrily.

"Don't know." he said quickly with a shoulder shrug. He still never got into a fighting stance, he just stood there lazily holding his Keyblade.

I decided to make the first move. I struck horizontally, and he blocked it, instantly breaking the wooden sword, "Figures…" I muttered as I jumped back grabbing another sword off the rack.

All I can do is hold him off until a Master or just a Keyblade wielder in general gets here, I swung at him again, the wooden sword performing the same as last time. I repeated the process of breaking wooden swords a few more times, throughout the whole one-sided fight the man just had a bored expression on his face and my heartbeat sped up.

"I thought this would be a bit more interesting…" the man said with a sigh before suddenly appearing behind me and launching me into a wall across the room.

I sat up slightly, my back against the wall. My whole body ached from just one blow, what was this? The man walked over and put the end of his Keyblade in the center of my chest, causing a yelp of pain to come from me. It felt as if my soul was being sucked out of my body. As he held me against the wall with his weapon, I slowly, and shakily, brought my hands up to his blade grabbing its length and trying with all the strength I could muster to push it off of me. It left my body slightly before smashing back into my chest with more force than it had before.

"You have a strong will it seems." the man said with a slight smile, "Now let's bring that magnificent thing out, shall we?" He pulled his Keyblade off my chest a tiny bit, the pressure felt like it was still there. I saw half of a white orb start to come out of my chest before my vision was engulfed in black.

I awoke on a large circular pillar, it was blindingly white, everything else was pitch black. As I stood up I noticed there was a crack from the outside to the center, it wasn't gigantic but definitely noticeable. I walked over to it and bent down, I started to rub the crack but I stopped as I heard a noise. I turned my head to see three items floating in the air. A sword, shield, and staff. Suddenly I was given instructions, there was no voice but I felt as if a force was telling me to do something,

Choose wisely

Naturally I walked over to the sword and grabbed it.

Is strength important?

I nodded as all the other items dissipated and a loud noise came from behind me. I turned around to see Heartless crawling out of the crack in the pillar. Suddenly, a Keyblade manifested in my hand where the sword was. The Keyblade was on the shorter side, skinny, and completely white. There was no chain or guard. The only thing that made it stand out a little were the two prongs at the end, also white. While admiring the weapon 3-4 Heartless began to crawl out of the crack in the pillar. I got in my stance and quickly destroyed them.

Your destiny has already been decided. Defeat the darkness, save the key.

I wasn't sure what that meant, but it was the last thing I heard/felt before my vision was engulfed in white.

My eyes opened and I seemed to be in an all white room, as I sat up I realized I was in the complex's infirmary. "Some dream.." I muttered, suddenly realizing what it was about. I learned about this when I was younger. It's called a 'Deep Dive to The Heart' wielders apparently experience it right before they obtain their Keyblade. Some think it's fate contacting you, others think it's just some crazy dream brought on by the creation of your Keyblade. I'm not sure what I believe. A light flashed in front of me and my Keyblade took form. I was confused, what did that guy do to me that I couldn't do myself? I felt ashamed, I should be happy but, I was the opposite… In the middle of my thoughts I heard the door start to open, I quickly made my blade disappear and put my hand down.

"You're finally awake!" Enzo yelled in excitement, while he gave me a hug,

"Yeah I guess" I replied with a chuckle. I followed up by asking how long I was out,

"About five days, I mean everyone was worried. Even Kiera was bothered by it."

"Huh surprising…" I said as I remembered what happened, "Wait how is Master Rhine!?"

Enzo just shook his head slightly. "Him and a few other Masters were frozen, they all apparently thawed out about a day ago. The doctors say they are all still alive, just, in a weird coma."

"I guess that's better than what it could be…" I muttered, "What about the Heartless?"

Enzo just shrugged, "They weren't really a match for us. Headmaster Waelus said he thinks they were a distraction, and I mean, he's probably right."

I looked down with a bit of disappointed, I wish I was there to help but instead I just got knocked out with no effort.

"Anyways, moving on from the depressing stuff… I have a gift for you. It's in my room though so you're gonna have to get checked out." Enzo said in an excited tone.

"Okay then." I replied as I got up from the bed.

I started for the door and walked out, Enzo following behind me. I reached the counter and spoke to the girl working there, she gave me the paperwork in order to get discharged, I signed it and was on my way. Once me and Enzo made it to the side of the complex where the dorms for students are, we went straight to his dorm. It was messy as always, clothes strewn everywhere, food wrappers and cans all over his desk,

"So what did you need to give me?" I asked.

"Give me a sec." he said as he rummaged through his closet, "This". Enzo hands me a sword in a sheathe, a book, and a letter.

I unsheathed the sword to find that it was real, "Woah…" I said amazed as the lights in the room reflected off of it.

"It's from the headmaster, he said it's enchanted so it can kill Heartless. I assume he wanted you to have it cause I told him I broke your sparring sword." Continuing to stare at the blade Enzo told me more, "There's a note there he told me not to read so it must be important."

I nodded my head and re-sheathed the sword.

"Another thing about the sword," Enzo went on, "The sheathe is also enchanted, so you can just make it disappear whenever you need."

I nodded my head in excitement, I couldn't wait to try it out. I figured the note was a bit more important though, so I put the sword down and went to read it:

Dear Koga,

Once you are reading this you should be on your way to a full recovery. There are things I wanted to tell you in person, but, there are matters I must attend to in other worlds regarding the last attack. I'm not going to draw this letter out so i'll give it to you straight and simple: When the attack happened I felt an overwhelming presence, that of darkness. I'm not sure who it was but I am hoping to find out soon, besides this presence I felt one other. Before the attack happened I felt the faint presence of your mother. I do not know what feelings you harbour for her, but, if you wish to seek her out I cannot stop you.

Sincerely,

Headmaster Waelus

I was surprised to say the least. My mom left me as a child in the care of Master Rhine. I was too young to really have any feelings about it, and even now I have no real negative emotions towards it. I do know one thing though, I'm curious by nature, and finding my mom seems very… interesting to say the least. Other than that Waelus seems to be setting me up for leaving rather than telling me not to.